Your Outdoor Packing List: A Day at the Beach

We may be getting a little ahead of ourselves with all the beach talk since we just barely turned over our first couple weeks of spring, but if you start planning for it now, you won’t be wasting time when the sunny days of summer arrive. All too often, though, people get so excited about the prospect of spending a day in sand and surf that they forget to include some very basic but necessary items on their packing list. We’re here to help with this week’s packing list that will focus on all things beachy!

Today’s Packing List: A Day at the Beach

Ground CoverThis should go without saying, but a lot of times, people just grab their towel and run out the door. While it’s true that a towel can indeed separate your body from the sand, when it comes time to dry off, that sandpapery sloughing feeling will remind you of why you need a proper ground cover. A material that repels sand would be ideal, such as nylon. Grand Trunk makes an awesome ParaSheet blanket measuring almost 50 square feet, machine washable, and compresses down to a single pound in its own stuffsack. Easily the smartest thing you could have in your day pack for a day at the beach. For extra style points, you could lug along a beach umbrella or some other portable type of shade structure.

SunscreenWe cannot stress this enough, folks: when your day involves little more than being in the sun on the sand or in the water, please apply your preferred SPF liberally and repeatedly. Sunburn is much more likely to be severe when sun exposure happens near a body of water. Forget about skin cancer being a proven consequence of bad sunburns — the immediate effect can severely limit your everyday life!

TunesSome people like to have a little melody to tan by, which is why it’s so great that product designers are making it easier to take our electronics wherever we want them to go. An mp3 player and a portable speaker is just about all you need for your little island in the sun. We’d make sure a protective case for the mp3 player made it onto our packing list for the beach, because you know that sand just gets everywhere, and you just never know when a rogue wave will sweep in. The Aquapac waterproof dry bag for mp3 players is 100 percent water, dust, mud, and sand proof, with an integral headphone jack so you can hook it up right to your speakers. A sound investment for a musical summer at the beach.

Jellyfish Sting ReliefSince jellyfish can be found in almost every ocean on Earth, it doesn’t hurt to be prepared that you might cross one’s tentacles. Jellyfish stings can range in severity from uncomfortable to searing pain. Contrary to a common wive’s tale, the correct solution for a jellyfish sting is not peeing on it. Vinegar is the correct response for most jellyfish stings, but some, like the Portuguese Man-o-War, can require hospital attention. If you have a spray bottle of vinegar, or a pre-made product like Jellyfish Squish in your day pack, you’ll never be left with a panicking victim of a jellyfish sting without a way to deal with it.

Light ClothingHaving a lightweight t-shirt or long sleeve shirt is a nice reprieve from the sun, especially when you’ve gone beyond the boundaries of what sunscreen can do. A broad-rimmed hat can do much to protect your scalp, face, neck, and shoulders from the ravages of overexposure. Temperatures can change substantially from midday to sunset and later, so you may want to have something to cover up in to stay comfortable. Shivering in your bathing suit after sundown will teach you a valuable lesson about coming prepared for a day at the beach!